Multiple Choices
by Tang Si Ming-Yue
Summary: It's exam week for the Gaang! Can they make the grade? Or will they sink harder than a bird chained to a rock? //submission for Twilight Rose2's contest//


A/N: okay, another entry for one of Twilight Rose2's contest. The one entry by BeautyAndTheBender looked rather lonely, and because of my deep, deep, deep, deep, deep, deep, deep, DEEP loathing of exams, it sounded fun! Not to mention I haven't done much of anything on the site lately so… here it it!

Disclaimer: I, Tangy, do NOT own Avatar: The Last Airbender or any of its contents.

Sokka: Really? But you told me the other day –

Me: SHUT UP!!

**Multiple Choices**

"Guys, wait up!"

Aang, Toph, Sokka, and Zuko turned around to see a teenage girl with cocoa skin with chocolate hair to match running towards them, her long plait flying as she did so. She didn't even seem to notice that she dropped all but one of her many and varied pencils.

"Hey, Katara!" said a love-struck Aang to his girlfriend. "What's the rush?"

"Yeah sis," said Sokka, smirking. "The last time you were this excited, Gran Gran had let you wash the dishes _twice_ in one day!"

Katara turned to him, a scowl crossing her usually gentle features. "And just _what_ is that supposed to mean?"

Toph, deciding to answer instead, replied with a smooth, "You're a fun-sucker, Sugar Queen. A stick in the mud. _Boring._"

"Thank you, Toph, I don't think I could have said it better myself," said Sokka, giving his girlfriend a high five.

Katara, spluttering for a comeback, was interrupted by Aang. "So, what's the big deal, again?"

"Yes, please," said Zuko, sarcastically. "Please enlighten us with your exciting life. I am _all ears._" A smile crossed his lips allowing Katara to see that he was joking. She couldn't help it – she giggled a bit.

After she stopped her chuckling, she began her news. "Okay, well, I guess you all heard about exams next week –"

"Oh, _Spirits_, don't remind me!" whined Zuko. "This is exactly what I don't need right now! A chance for Azula to rub her perfection in my face once again!"

"I really don't see what the big deal is," said Toph.

"Well, you don't have to take exams, though!" said Sokka. "You do all the regular work, just like the rest of us, but you still get to skip out on next week because you're blind!"

"And is that _my _fault?" Toph shot back.

"Guys, exams are _not_ that bad!" said Aang while showing off his picture perfect grin.

"Oh, please!" said Zuko. "Like you would know! You've never studied a frickin' day in your entire life!"

Aang turned slightly crimson at this. "Well, Uncle Gyatso always told me that –"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Zuko shooed away.

"Well, at least I don't have anything to worry about!" said Sokka, grinning like the maniac he could sometimes be. "I'm gonna pass these tests so easily, you're going to have a seizure when you see how much my GPA surpasses yours!"

Everyone looked unbelieving. Sokka looked joyful.

"Yeah, okay, whenever that _doesn't_ happen, you can come and join my study group!" Katara happily rolled out a long sheet of paper from under her arm. It unraveled until it reached the floor while the gang looked on in shock.

"See? Here," Katara pointed to a column on the chart. "is how long we'll study for the rest of today. From after school until dinner, then after we eat, we go back to studying until 8:00. Then, since tomorrow is Saturday, we can start studying right after breakfast. We go on until lunch, eat, then go back to the books. We take a 5 minute break around 3:00 or 3:30, then study on until dinner. Then 'til 8:00 again like today, then we repeat the same thing on Sunday, and on Monday we take our exams!"

Aang, Sokka, Toph, and Zuko all looked at the way-too-happy-about-studying-to-be-normal Katara, mouths gaping. Katara started up once more. "Well, what do you think?"

"I think you're crazy!" said Sokka.

"Seriously, Sweetness," said Toph. "Even I'm scared of this schedule, and I'm not the one who has to take these exams!"

"It _is_ a bit… out of hand," said Aang, slowly and cautiously, watching Katara's face drop with every passing comment. It broke his heart, but there was no way he was being dragged into this.

"_Out of hand?!_" gasped Zuko. "If this were any more 'out of hand' it'd be a foot! I may want to beat Azula, but I am NOT that desperate!"

"So…" Katara said, "…you guys don't want to do it?"

"That would be a no, Katara," said Sokka. "You and your crazy schedule can have by yourselves!"

Katara flared up. "Fine! I will! I'll study and I'll get the best grades out of all of you! Then you'll all be sorry you didn't study like I told you!"

And with that, she humphed, turned on her heel, and stalked away.

All of them stood around for a few minutes of awkward silence.

"Geez, what's _her_ problem?" said Toph, finally.

oOoOo

It was Monday. Finals day. The dreaded day of… well, dread. Okay, so they only had to do this for today and then they had the rest of the week off, but it was still rather dreadful.

Aang, Sokka, Katara, Toph, and Zuko met up at their usual spot under the large willow tree in the back of the schoolyard. Aang was already under the tree looking over a notebook from his advanced algebra class. Looking up for a moment, he saw Katara and Sokka walking towards him. Well… Sokka was slumping more than walking, and Katara was practically skipping.

"Morning, Aang!" she said, placing a kiss on his cheek. Aang blushed slightly. "So how was your weekend?"

"I just studied a bit. I text you a couple times to see if you wanted to come by and go over some stuff with me, but you never answered."

"Sorry," Katara answered with a small frown on her face. "I was studying hard-core all weekend, and I had my phone off so there wouldn't be anything to distract me."

"Besides," Sokka interrupted. "I don't think you two would have gotten much studying done together, if you know what I mean."

Both Aang and Katara glared up at the standing Sokka. "And what did you do, Sokka?" asked Aang.

"Oh, I studied," said Sokka casually. "Katara kept trying to distract me though…"

oSOKKAoFLASHBACKo

Sokka lay on his back in bed, throwing wads of paper from his geometry notebook into the trash bin across the room.

"And he fakes left, right, Sokka's going for the 3 pointer! He pivots, he jumps, he shoots, and –"

"SOKKA!!"

"-he misses, dammit." Sokka sat up on his lumpy, old mattress. "WHAT DO YOU WANT?!"

"GO GET ME A SODA FROM THE KITCHEN!"

Okay, was this chick, who 'claimed' to be his sister, nuts or something? "GO GET YOUR OWN SODA!"

"BUT I'M STUDYING!"

"I'M STUDYING, TOO!"

It was quiet for a minute. Then, Sokka heard scuffling and the door to his room was flung open.

"I knew it!" Katara said, stepping into the dark abyss that was Sokka's room. "You're not studying at all!"

"Yes I am!" Sokka argued. He grabbed the notebook and shoved it into his sister's face. "I'm studying how far I can shoot my geometry notes, and how many I'll actually make into the basket! I was on a roll until your little interruption… well, interrupted me!"

"Oh, please. Studying is where you _read_ your notes, not when you pretend to be Shaq and toss them from across the room while giving your own play-by-play," said Katara, crossing her arms.

"What, you mean you heard me?" asked Sokka tentatively, not sure whether she had been joking or if she had actually heard him from across the house.

"I'd be surprised if Thailand _hadn't_ heard you!" Katara screamed, answering Sokka's question. "Now go get me a soda!"

"What?!" Sokka shouted, leaping off his bed. "But you're up now!"

"So? You're the one who feels the need to pretend to be Michael Jordan using a trash basket and math notes!"

"For your information," said Sokka, "I was Sokka the Great, and they were _geometry_ notes, not math!"

"It's not like it matters; the only math-related thing you could possibly do is 2 plus 2! And I'm not even sure you can do _that!_"

"Well, I never!"

"Well, I did! Now, _get me a soda!_"

oENDoFLASHBACKo

"See just what I have to put up with? And, by the way, I _did_ end up getting the soda! What kind of justice is this?!"

Aang rolled his eyes as did Katara. Zuko and Toph decided to walk in at that moment, Zuko looking depressed, Toph looking rather gleeful.

"I'm gonna kill myself," said Zuko rather simply. "Anyone got a knife on hand?"

Toph rolled her milky eyes. "Whatever, Sparky. I just came over to say hi, and that while you guys are having a horrible day taking stupid tests that don't mean crap, I'm going to go and sleep the entire day in Iroh's class! See you later!"

Toph walked away, laughing so hard it looked like she might have a heart attack. Sokka glared after her. "Yeah, some girlfriend you are!" he shouted.

"Okay, seriously, someone give me a knife! A stick, a piece of string, uncooked spaghetti, I'll find a way!"

"Zuko, chill out!" said Katara, looking a bit worried. "What's the matter?"

Zuko sighed. "Well, this weekend…"

oZUKOoFLASHBACKo

Zuko cautiously opened the door to his sister's room, taking a deep breath as he did so.

"Um, Azula," he started, hiding behind the door for precautionary reasons. "Do you know what the capital of –"

"Shut up and die."

"Okay then, thanks."

He ran out of the room of evil and back into his own. Breathing heavily and holding the stitch in his side, he looked back at his notes. And then the next page of the notes. And then the next page. Then the next page. And the next…

"Oh my God, will it NEVER END?!"

"SHUT UP! I'M STUDYING!" he heard Azula scream.

"MAKE ME, YOU BUTT!" Zuko screamed back.

It was quiet for a moment. Then he heard the footsteps outside his door, coming closer and closer to his room.

Zuko panicked. "NO! NO, I DIDN'T MEAN IT! GO BACK TO YOUR ROOM, YOU ANIMAL!"

The footsteps faded, but Zuko could practically hear his sister's smirk.

4 H O U R S L A T E R

"I STILL DON'T KNOW WHAT THE DAMN CAPITAL OF MICHIGAN IS!!"

oENDoFLASHBACKo

"Tough luck, Zuko," Aang sympathized.

"Whatever. If I'm not at lunch, you know what happened to me."

oOoOo

The teacher, Mr. Zhao, was passing out tests. "This test is multiple choice. There will be no talking. Make your answers clear. You may begin. Good luck." He suddenly slammed the test on Zuko's desk. He glared straight at the scarred teenager. "You'll need it."

Zuko gulped. This was going to be a long day.

oOoOo

"Howdy, Iroh! I'm ready for my nap!"

Mr. Iroh looked up from his desk to look at the blind girl that had just walked in. He chuckled. "Of course, Miss Bei Fong. I even have some leftover breakfast tacos and tea from this morning. Help yourself!"

Toph plopped down at the table and grabbed a random taco. She took a bite to find it was egg and bacon. Not bad.

Yup! This was going to be a good day!

oOoOo

Aang sat in his seat at the front of the classroom, breezing through the test as usual. He glanced over at Katara sitting at her desk by the window to see that she was doing the same thing. He smiled a bit before going back to his test. A, C, A, B, B, D, C, D, B, A, C, C, C, A, D…

He chanced another peek at Katara. She was almost done, like him. He needed to finish, but he couldn't help but realize how the sun from outside hit her hair and made it so shiny, kind of like the way the way the ocean does when it's hit by the light. And her blue eyes were so deep and always twinkling and…

Katara must have noticed she was being watched because she looked up and started looking around the room. She spotted Aang watching her, and gave him a small wave. Aang waved back, still slightly in a daze.

He felt a hand on his shoulder. Aang's eyes widened, and he turned around. It was Mr. Pakku.

"M-Mr. Pakku," Aang stuttered.

"Mr. Yangchen, I will not tolerate cheating in my classroom!"

Aang looked over at Katara, who was looking on with the rest of the class, and looking rather guilty.

"Mr. Pakku, I wasn't cheating, I was –"

"I don't want to hear it!" said Mr. Pakku. "I will be taking up your test as is, and you will sit out in the hallway until the period ends."

"Mr. Pakku," said Katara. "He really wasn't cheating! It was my fault, I –"

"Now, Katara," said Mr. Pakku, suddenly much more gentle. Katara always was a favorite of his. "I don't want you taking the blame for this boy's misdoings. Just go back to your test. The same to the rest of you!"

And with that, Aang was shoved into the hallway, alone.

oOoOo

"Your test is multiple choice. You may begin at any time."

Sokka looked at the test in front of him. "Easy peasy," he whispered to himself.

**Question 1: If x is equal to 2 times y and y equals 3 divided by x, what is the square root of 84?**

Okay, so it wouldn't be _that_ easy.

oOoOo

_George Washington… Civil War… Fergie… evil Azula… 7…_

"I CAN'T TAKE THIS ANYMORE!!" Zuko shouted at the top of his lungs. "I DON'T FRICKIN' CARE IF AZULA BEATS ME AGAIN, I HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE!"

He leaped out of his desk, running around the classroom at the speed of light, unable to find the door in his frenzy.

"NOOOOOOO!! WHERE'S THE DOOR? WHERE'S THE DOOR? WHERE'S THE DOOR? DANGIT, WHERE IS IT?!"

"Mr. Agni! Mr. Agni, settle down this instant! Settle – SETTLE DOWN!" Mr. Zhao grabbed Zuko by the collar, stopping him in his tracks.

"I gotta…" said Zuko, gasping for air. "I gotta… get-get out… out o-of here… out… here… l-let go…! Out…"

"Uh…" stuttered Zhao. "Perhaps you should –"

A ringing noise vibrated through the classroom. "That's the bell," said Zhao, sounding relieved. "Turn in your tests, and you may –"

"SSAANNCCTTUUAARRYY!!" shouted Zuko, running out of the door and into the cafeteria for lunch.

oOoOo

It was Friday, the last day of school.

"Our exam results are finally here!" exclaimed Katara.

"Joy," said Zuko, rather un-joyfully.

"Well, I'm pretty sure I aced these things!" said Sokka, rather sure of himself.

"Yeah, well, I made all As on these tests," said Toph, smirking.

"But you didn't do anything!" Zuko said, gaping.

"Yes, and that's the beauty of it!" Toph said in a singsong sort of way.

"This is totally unfair," grouched Zuko, arms crossed.

Aang sighed. "Can we look at our results now?"

"I'm too nervous!" Katara wailed.

"Just open it, you wimp!" said Sokka.

Katara glared. Aang smiled comfortingly. "Okay, on the count of three. One… two… three!"

The four of them, with Toph as their witness, opened their envelopes at the same time and looked down at the grades in front of them.

"All As!" Katara shouted with a huge grin plastered on her face.

"Same here," said Aang, less excited by a mile. "Except for, you know, in Mr. Pakku's class…"

Katara's smile immediately turned into a frown. "I am _so _sorry, Aang! I tried talking to Mr. Pakku after class, I really did, and he wouldn't hear it! I feel so bad…"

"Don't be," said Aang. "It's okay. I only got a B. Besides, it's nothing a kiss couldn't fix."

Katara giggled, leaning in, but was stopped by Toph saying, "Get a room!"

"Okay… C in math," Zuko started. "B in science, B in English, D in art –"

"You made a _D_ in _art?_" laughed Toph, holding Sokka's hand.

"If you saw my work, you'd understand," said Zuko, uncaringly. "Okay, C in study hall, and… _an A in history?!"_

"Don't you suck at history?" asked Aang, innocently.

"Ha. Ha. Ha. Shut up. Baldy!" Zuko said, angrily. "I just don't get it…"

"I don't get _you,_" said Sokka. "I still can't believe I failed _everything!_ Even English! I mean, I _speak_ English!"

"And that might just be why you failed," said Katara, smirking.

"Well, it doesn't matter now, anyway," said Toph. "It's summer vacation! No worries!"

"Yeah!" said Aang. "Time to kick back, relax, and not worry about those stupid multiple choice exams!"

A/N: I put it together in a rush, so if it sucks, that's why. I hope y'all like it! R&R please!

Tangy


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